Venetian blind



Oct. 30, 1951 s, usco 2,573,326

VENETIAN BLIND Filed Dec. 11, 1948 .IV/A

Patented Oct. 30, 1951 VENETIAN BLIND Mario S. Fusco, Chicago, Ill.,;assignor to David Kayman, Barnett Kayman, and Joseph Kayman, Chicago,Ill.

Application December 11, 1948, Serial No. 64,761

3 Claims. (01; 160-1 73) This invention relates to Venetian blinds, andamong other objects aims to provide a Venetian blind in which the louverboards or slats may be easily removed for cleaning.

Another object of the invention is to provide a construction wherein theslats, although easily removable, will not become accidentallydisplaced.

The nature of the invention and other objects and advantages thereofwill be readily understood by reference to one illustrative constructionembodying the invention and shown in the accompanying drawing.

In said drawing:

Fig. 1 is an elevation of an illustrative Venetian blind partly brokenaway to facilitate illustration on a larger scale;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view on an enlarged scale of. aseries of slats illustrating the manner of retaining the lift cordagainst accidental displacement;

Fig. 3 is a similar perspective view illustrating the slats tilted tothe maximum degree;

Sig. 4 is a plan view of an illustrative slat; an

Fig. 5 is a detail showing the manner of connecting a lift cord to thebottom board.

This application is a continuation in part of my application Serial No.14,840, now abandoned.

The louver boards or slats of Venetian blinds are more exposed to dirtand the soiling action of wind, rain and sun than most elements of abuilding structure. Moreover they are often light in color (for lightreflecting purposes) and soiling is'therefore very conspicuous. Cleaningof the slats is difiicult and ineffective unless they can be easilymoved and replaced. The illustrative Venetian blind makes such removaland replacement easy without impairing or requiring alteration of, theconventional Venetian blind accessories. Although the slats may beeasily removed and replaced, accidental displacement is neverthelessprevented.

The general details of one illustrative Venetian blind are disclosed inmy said copending application and will be set forth herein only to theextent they concern the present improvement. Other details may beregarded as conventional.

A typical Venetian blind comprises a series of slats l0 supported inspaced relation by so-called ladder tapes It (generally two). The latterare supported from above by a tilting bar I2 by means of which theentire series of slats may be simultaneously angularly adjusted ortilted to the desired position. Any appropriate mechanism for tiltingbar l2 may be employed. One such mechanism isillustrated in my saidcopendmg application. Such mechanism may be conveniently operated bytiltin cords [3. A pair of lifting cords [4 connected to a bottom boardl5 serve to raise and lower the blind. Any appropriate means forconnecting the. cords to the bottom board may be used. In the: presentinstant the ends of the cords: pass thru holes. in the boards and haveclipped thereto split metal ferrules l6 whose teeth I! bite'into thecord enclosed on itand Whose head [8 is enlarged so that it will notpull thru: the hole. The cords preferably pass over pulleys and togetherthru releasable latchmeans which: hold the cords in adjusted position.The ladder tapes are also fastened at their lower ends. to the bottomboard and thereby give. the ladder the. same tilt. as the slats;

The. lift cords pass thru the slats; and therefore serve to hold themagainst lateral displacement. Instead of slotting the slats intermediatetheir ends for the lift cords I4, open slots l9 are formed in therespective ends of the slats in the illustrative Venetian blind. Theslots are elongated transversely of the slat for purposes presentlydescribed. The elevator or lift cords thus lie in effect at the ends ofthe slats, holding them against accidental longitudinal displacement orshifting, and, lying as they do in the slots l9, are prevented therebyfrom lateral displacement relative to the slats. The cords however arefree to be pulled out of the slots and aside to permit any slat to bepulled out of its position in the blind and thereby easily cleaned ordusted. The slots l9 are curved or circular at the ends andadvantageously elongated transversely of the slat so as not to bind thecords when the slats are steeply inclined or closed as illustrated inFig. 3. Each slat should preferably be long enough so that itshorizontal projection when the slat is given its maximum tilt, issubstantially greater than the diameter of the cord. The slots shouldalso be correspondingly wider than the cord diameter to eliminate anydanger of binding the cord. The cords, being free even when the slatsare given their maximum tilt, may be operated to raise and lower theblind without binding in the slots.

The openings 20 in the slots 19 are advantageously offset laterally fromthe position or axis of the cord in the slot so that an imperforateportion 2| of the outer margin of the slat lies opposite the cord tohold the latter in the slot and prevent longitudinal displacement of theslat or cord. Preferably the slots in the opposite ends of a given slatare formed with their offset openings 2! adjacent the same side edge ofthe slat so that by reversal of alternate slats in the blind, theopenings may be staggered as in Fig. 2. This arrangement prevents escapeof the cord from the slot merely by displacing the cord from'its centralaxis. If it be displaced to escape from an opening 20 of one slat it isrestrained by the imperforate margins 2| of the adjacent slats. Howeverremoval of a given slat is not thereby made less easy since manualremoval of the cord from one slot at a time is just as easy as thoughthe opening were centrally located. Moreover replacement of the slatsafter they have been dusted or washed is just as simple. 7 V

The slats may advantageously be formed from a strip of thin enameled orotherwise decorated sheet metal transversely curved to stiffen them. Theindividual slats may be formed by transversely severing the strip intothe required lengths by a shearing die which simultaneously punches theslots 19 and openings 20 in the ends of the slats as they are severed. Y

Obviously the invention is not limited to the details of theillustrative constructions since these may be variously modified.Moreover it is not indispensable that all features of the invention beused conjointly since various features may be used to advantage indifferent combinations and. subcombinations.

Having described my invention, I claim:

1. An individually replaceable slat for a Venetian blind, said slathaving an elongated slot disposed adjacent its end and extendingtransversely of the longitudinal axis of the slat and being wide andlong enough to accommodate an elevator cord for free movement thereinwhen the slat is in a tilted position in a blind, the end edge of theslat having an entrance opening extending longitudinally of the slat andintersecting the slot adjacent an end thereof, said entrance openinghaving its side edges lying in planes spaced from and to one side of thelo tudinal medial axis of the slat and extending longitudinally of theslat and perpendicular to the transverse axis of the slat.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein said slat consists of a relativelythin strip of sheet material.

3. A Venetian blind comprising a plurality of vertically spacedelongated louver slats each having a transverse slot adjacent an endthereof, opposite elevator cords for raising and lowering the blindandhaving a vertical run disposed in said slots, said slots being wideand long enough to provide ample clearance for said vertical run in allpositions of adjustment of said slats, said slats having in said one endthereof longitudinallyextending entrance openings communicating withsaid slots, said openings being of sufficient width to pass the verticalreaches longitudinally of the slats and into said slots, said openingshaving their side edges offset from and spaced laterally from and on thesame side of the longitudinal medial line of the slats, the

' transverse openings at the adjacent ends of adjacent slats beingdisposed on opposite sides of the longitudinal medial lines.

MARIO S. FUSCO.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 691,603 Coveney Jan. 21, 19022,428,909 Elliott Oct. 14, 1947 2,493,186 Delgaudio Jan. 3, 19502,495,973 Jones Jan. 31, 1950

